Huawei testing Android Oreo on Mate 9 with public beta

Huawei is looking for 250 individuals to test out Oreo on the Mate 9 between now and November 3.

We're less than a week away from the Mate 10's unveiling, but before Huawei shows off its latest and greatest flagship to the world, the company is giving some Oreo love to last year's Mate 9.

Huawei just opened a beta program in which it's looking for 250 applicants to test out a beta version of Android 8.0 Oreo for the Mate 9. There doesn't appear to be any regional restrictions to apply for the beta, and it'll run from today (October 10) through November 3. Huawei doesn't exactly say what'll happen after November 3, but this is likely when it'll finalize the software and put any finishing touches on the build of Oreo before releasing it to all Mate 9 owners.

If you want to sign up for the beta yourself for a shot at using Oreo on the Mate 9 before everyone else, the process is quite simple. Download the Friendly User Test app from Huawei's website, launch the app, log in with your Huawei ID, and then choose which beta you want to join.

A fair amount of bugs are to be expected as with any sort of unfished software, so keep that in mind before getting too eager about applying for the beta if the Mate 9 is your daily driver.